


Sleight

by missdibley



Series: The Bad Friend [2]
Category: British Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Implied Smut, Sneaking Around, ace comic con midwest, going behind one's back, the bad friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 13:58:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16348031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missdibley/pseuds/missdibley
Summary: Tom takes time and extra care with the last autograph of the night.





	Sleight

**Author's Note:**

> One more drabble inspired by Ace Comic Con Midwest. Enjoy.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Tom was keeping count of a number of things.

Hours slept.

Miles traveled.

Coffees consumed.

Jeans packed.

Fans in attendance.

Agents hovering nearby.

Photographs taken.

Signatures made.

All while he counted down the hours until he was finished for the day, the hours until the weekend was over, and he was on his way home.

He liked it when he could sign things — posters, toys, books, mainly — with a fresh black marker. The pens were not nearly as satisfying to wield. His name looked better when written in bold, angular strokes.

He didn’t have to be meticulous, but he did take his time. It was a game he liked to play. Taking sixty seconds to sign a name when he could easily do it in five. And while he did what could he expect? A story? A question? A languid sigh before he thanked them for coming? Or just silence, the weight of their gaze becoming heavier as the seconds ticked on.  _ 56, 57, 58, 59… _

The final guest of Saturday night wore a nervous, giddy smile on her freckled face. Red curls fell into her eyes, bobbing as she nodded at the picture that now sat before him.

“Hi, Tom,” she murmured shyly.

He flashed a brief smile —  _ make sure it reaches your eyes, but isn’t too familiar _ — then glanced at the yellow sticky note. “Hello, June,” he replied confidently. “How are you?”

“Uh, I’m fuh-fine. Thanks!” June relaxed her shoulders. “Are you having a nice time?”

“Yes, I am enjoying myself… very much.” Tom found the upper left-hand corner and began to write:  _ To June. _

“Well, I’m so excited you’re here,” June went on. “In Chicago, I mean.”

He wrote  _ Tom _ then looked up at her again. “It’s a lovely city.”

“I grew up here,” June offered. “Born and raised.”

“Uh huh.” He returned to writing his name.

“You live in London, right?”

Tom froze, just for a moment. “Ah, yes.” He left it that that.

“Well, me and my best friend just visited for the first time, and we just loved it.”

“I hope you were made to feel welcome,” Tom said earnestly.

“Oh we were!” June gushed. “Weren’t we, Lydia?”

“Yeah,” a low voice cut in. “It was great.”

Tom looked up to find June gazing at him, rapturous and unabashed in her adoration. No longer alone, she was accompanied by a woman with olive skin, black hair and almost black eyes that tilted up at the outer corners. Small pouty lips, and an unreadable look on her face.

“Yeah,” she repeated. “We had a great time in London, didn’t we Junie?”

Tom looked down at the picture, a bit quicker than he meant to. His face was warm, and so was the back of his neck. But it wasn’t shame or nerves. It was excitement. Blood rushed to his face and his neck, his chest and his cock. Before him, his unfinished name waited. The picture of him and June blurred. He closed his eyes, to center himself but when he did a rapid succession of images appeared before him.

Handing Lydia her phone on a quiet London street.

Lydia leading him up carpeted stairs.

Lydia, naked, crawling up a bed to meet him.

Lydia sitting across from him on a high-speed train.

Lydia lying before him on a bed in quiet Paris hotel room, watching him as he undressed for her in the fading afternoon light.

When Tom opened his eyes again, he saw the  _ Tom _ and quickly followed it up with a  _ Hiddleston _ . Before sliding the picture back to June, he took a breath.

“Are you up to anything fun tonight?” June was feeling a bit brave.

Tom shook his head. “I think I’m going to stay in.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” June said with a frown.

“Oh?” Tom arched an eyebrow. “Did you have something in mind?”

June froze. “What?”

“Well, what I meant to say was…”

“I think,” Lydia cut in. “What you meant was, did we have suggestions for something for you to do?”

“Sure,” Tom said.

“I mean, something that isn’t eating deep dish pizza, or going to Second City, or going to one of the touristy blues bars in River North.” Lydia blinked at him. “Right?”

“Oh, well, if it’s places you want…” June began to rattle off names, burbling and squeaking over names that Tom wasn’t half listening to. He smiled politely, noting how June would occasionally meet his gaze. He also saw how Lydia watched her friend’s face, a doting smile on her lips.

“If you need any brunch recommendations, we’ve got those, too.” June said cheerfully.

“I don’t always eat breakfast, but thanks ever so.” Tom leaned forward and held out his hand, chuckling when June took it with both of her hands and shook it vigorously.

“Thanks, Tom!” June held her signed photograph to her chest, took a few steps back, slowly turned and almost floated out of the autograph area.

Lydia said nothing, merely gave him a brief glance. But then she stopped when she saw that his hand was still out for her to shake, too.

“Bye,” she murmured.

“Nice meeting you, Lydia,” Tom replied, closing both of his hands over hers. He sat still, then released his hands to reveal the torn corner of a yellow piece of paper that he’d pressed to her palm.

Lydia was deft as she pulled her hand away, turning it just so to read its contents. A phone number. The name of a hotel. A room number. She shoved her hand in her jacket pocket when she saw out of the corner of her eye the two staffers starting to move behind the table at which they sat.

Tom watched her, and waited.

“When?’ Lydia asked.

“Anytime after 7:00.”

“Okay,” Lydia said. “Do you want me to bring anything?”

“Just you.” Tom looked past her, smiling at the security guard who nodded back. Out of the corner of his mouth, he said: “Lucky I ran into you.”

“Yeah,” Lydia said, walking away with a smile. “Isn’t it.”


End file.
